WHEE THREE: This trio straps on some courage and takes a dive on the Boardwalk Flight yesterday at Coney Island's Luna Park. Photo: Theodore Parisienne

Thousands of sun-starved New Yorkers flocked to reconstructed local beaches to welcome the unofficial start of summer yesterday, as others struck a more somber tone to remember the nation’s war dead.

“It’s a beautiful feeling out here,” said Dawn Fisk, 34. of Manhattan, as she soaked in the sunshine at Cooper’s Beach in Southampton, LI.

“You always have that feeling of gratitude for the people that made days like this possible in the military. But there is also the sense that we’ve come back from [Hurricane] Sandy. It’s like a double celebration,” she said.

Nearly all of New York City’s 14 miles of beach were open to the public after a $270 million rehabilitation effort to get them in shape in time for the post-Sandy summer.

Coney Island bustled as revelers dipped their toes in the Atlantic Ocean and noshed on Nathan’s hot dogs.

Luis Batista, 47, of Sandy-ravaged Gerritsen Beach in Brooklyn, said, “Looking out here today, it’s hard to remember everything that happened during Sandy. You go from that disaster to this, it feels good. We’re coming back.”

But the hurricane’s specter still lingered in several hard-hit areas.

With much of its boardwalk still in tatters, Rockaway Beach drew only a fraction of its normal Memorial Day crowd.

“This is tough,” said Antonio Manzella, a longtime resident. “I know it’s a work in progress, but the summer is here, and there’s a long way to go.”

Meanwhile, roughly 200 people gathered for a Memorial Day commemoration at the USS Intrepid to pay tribute to deceased veterans.

“For me personally, everything I learned about leadership I learned in the Marine Corps,” said NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, who joined West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen David Huntoon in addressing the crowd.

Veterans gathered at the service to trade war stories and pay tribute.

“It’s an inspiration to come here and see these guys from World War II,” said Vietnam veteran Stan Wright, 63, of The Bronx. “I know we did some heroic things, but the ones who died, they are the real heroes. ”